Working as a Team in Quarantine

Reflection on the Quarantine with my Quaran-Team!

The new normal still feels weird. A Lot of us never asked, or wanted to work from home, but here we are, doing our best! Some of us wear our pajamas while working from bed, and some of us have quickly adapted to our new home offices.

In the non-quarantine world, our team works from a very open office. At any given time you can hop into a number of different conversations going on in the room. You know what’s on everyone’s plate for the day, literally and figuratively!

We are no experts on how to become an especially awesome work from home person, however, we’ve been doing this for a couple weeks now, and are prepared to give you some of our best tips on working as a team in quarantine!

Katie Paganuzzi, Account Manager

“It’s important for me to keep in contact with my teammates as much as I can, whether it be sending them a quick meme to keep everyone laughing, or sending them pics of what is going on at my home office. It’s also been helpful for me to stay in a routine as much as possible. I write my goals in Evernote every day, and check them off as I accomplish them.”

Brinley Roush, Customer Support Manager

“We have several Slack channels and love to use them to say something funny, or just to say good morning! We also have our own little click groups that we do the same in.

We have share competitions that have really kept us engaged with each other.

Weekly check-in on Zoom seems to be a normal routine, which is totally not all business, but we are getting so much done it’s crazy! I think it has a lot to do with our morale being kept high.

The random photo check-ins on Slack are awesome because we miss seeing everyone, and probably the same silly faces we would be making at the office anyway!”

Mike Paine, CMO

“Working from home can be a challenge, with many distractions. Lucky for me, my home distractions are actually less than at the office. I have kids doing online school and a wife that normally works from home. So the day-to-day is pretty much without distraction. I’ve got four dogs that love that everyone is home and they lay down at my feet while I work all day. My biggest tips would be to have the right setup and to be organized. I created the same setup that I had at my office. I have a room that I can close the door to not disturb anyone else and to let my new “co-workers” know that I’m working. I use Monday to keep a list of daily tasks. I try to work out of it, updating every project and revisiting priorities for the day every morning. It’s connected to Slack which is another tool I use to quickly communicate with individuals or in groups as we tackle projects together. I also do think it’s important to get face time with your peers because after working in an office with them so often, it’s just nice. There is something about being able to read people’s faces and see how they react when you say something off the wall…and I do that more often than not. We use Google Meet and Zoom for most of our meetings and it’s been working really well. I think working from home takes more discipline because you’re not constantly monitored, but when you’re motivated with very specific near term goals in front of you, it’s easy to stay on track.”

Jennifer Vicknair, Designer

“Our team, like many others, has been put to the test of working remotely. We are faced with obstacles every day and we always conquer them all together, and this is no different. We have frequent meetings online so we can make sure everyone is completing their tasks and knows what is expected of them. We communicate using Slack and Monday to keep each other in the loop of everything going on. I also have a notebook beside me with a checklist of tasks I need to get done. It’s all pretty much all the same, except I don’t have to wear pants.”

Anees Mueller, Account Specialist

“I LOVE working from home, I am able to focus better and be more productive! Obviously I wish it was under different circumstances, but I’m taking advantage of this time at home. One way that I’m able to stay productive is to keep up healthy habits. I make sure to stick to a routine and exercise regularly so I am able to stay focused throughout the day just as I would at the office. At the beginning of the day, I like to make a to-do list of things I know I need to accomplish that day, regardless of whatever else comes my way. Checking these tasks off each day helps to ensure that I am getting a lot done and staying on track. Another thing that helps productivity throughout the day, and something I could not live without, is being able to utilize Slack to stay in touch with my coworkers and work on projects together. This allows for quick and effective communication when getting things done, and it helps to socialize as a team as well.”

Our team hopes to be reunited soon, but in the meanwhile, we hope you find these tips useful!